Men's Tennis

Men’s Tennis Unable to Complete Comeback Against Nevada

Jan 22, 2012

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 73 Texas A&M – Corpus Christi men's tennis team lost a hard-fought match against Nevada on Sunday afternoon, losing a close 5-2 match that saw the deciding singles matches come down to a third and final set.

The Islanders move to 2-1 on the year, with the final of the four-match road trip coming on Monday night at 7 p.m. against No. 56 New Mexico. Nevada evens their record at 2-2 on the year with the win.

"Our guys fought their tails off today, I'm incredibly proud of their effort," said Director of Tennis Steve Moore. "Nevada is an excellent team that plays every well indoors and they got off to a very good start on us.

"We talk a lot about staying in the present and playing every point with intensity. That's what they did and I'm proud of the way they clawed back."

In a close match from the start, Nevada grabbed the opening point by taking the three doubles in nail-biting fashion, including one match that went into extra points before the Wolfpack prevailed. Aurelien Tave and Matt Westmoreland were unable to take No. 2 doubles, falling 9-7 in extra points, while Alex Pavlov and Nathan Robinson fell 8-6 at the No. 3 position. Peter Nagy and Gergo Weidinger suffered an 8-4 final to complete doubles play.

In singles, Fernando Llorens tied the score for the first time at 1-1 by taking a 6-3, 6-1 final in the No. 5 singles match. After Weidinger fell by a 6-2, 6-1 final at No. 3, Robinson once again tied the match by winning at No. 6 in 6-1, 6-4 fashion.

Nevada once again regained the lead when the freshman Nagy lost his first match of the year by a 6-2, 6-1 final in No. 1 singles against Wessim Derbel. One of the hottest players in the country, Derbel is ranked in the Top 50 of the ITA Division I rankings.

That left the match up to No. 2 and 4 singles. Both matches reached a final set, with the Islanders unable to prevail for another comeback win. At No. 2, Tave suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 setback, while Westmoreland went down fighting by a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 final.

"It was a great college tennis match, with the match hanging by two sets side-by-side and both teams screaming at the top of their lungs. This is what it's all about." said Moore. "Sometimes you compete hard and tough, but you lose close.

"We have to get better at certain things, but I really like this group's character, tenacity and they way they support each other and stick together."

For the Islanders, they will compete one more time on the road trip, taking on No. 56 New Mexico on Monday night at 7 p.m. before returning to Corpus Christi.

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